(OT) Native American heritage. HELP!!

[Strider The Ranger]

Hey, recently I was informed that my mothers grandfather (i guess that makes him my great grandfather) was Iroquois. The only thing we have to go on is a medal we found amongst his things. Its an eagle holding a sign that says "Iroquois" and it has a tomahawk and an Indian head. On the back is engraved: "Presented to Waldo A Woodcock, Tribe # 810 R.M. Jan 7, 1921"

Now, I've searched for this on google and couldnt come up with anything. Can anyone help? What does "R.M." mean? How do I search by tribe #'s....this really means a lot to me so if you can help, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance

 

[Piratecat]

Good luck! Could you please edit your subject line to put "OT" in the title?

Thanks!

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Re: Native American heritage. HELP!!

You'll have better luck checking genealogy sites.

There are several, but here are a few I use a lot:

USGenWeb - totally free, but many of their pages (one for every county in the US and then some....) have ads.

Rootsweb - this place has a ton of mailing lists. They were bought out by ancestry.com but the mailling lists are still free. You could subscribe and post to one of their Native American mailing lists.

Cyndi's List - used to be the most famous "personal" site--just a huge collection of (well-organized) links. I think some company just bought it or made some "partnership deal" with them.

Anyway, one of those (if not all) should point you to some good sites for Native Amercian genealogy. And someone at one of those sites (or mail lists) will probably be able to answer your question.

Good luck!

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Re: Re: Native American heritage. HELP!!

OK, the direct page for Cyndi's List Native American links is this.

 

[alsih2o]

i think what you have is more along the lines of a lodge pin than a banner of heritage.

look for lodges in the area whetre he lived with a native amarican theme

 

[Strider The Ranger]

Hey I talked to a friend of mine who's Cherokee and he says hes pretty sure that pin is only given to those with Native American Heritage. He also said to look online and see if there was a chapter nearby. So I did, and I came across the American Indian Movement site where they have a chapter in Massachusetts. Now, I've been dialing the number since yesterday. I called yesterday at 12, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Now, I've called today at 7:30, 8, 9, 10:30, and 11 and I've still had no luck.
Anyone have experience in this area? Why won't they pick up the phone? THe site didnt give hours but I would think they would be open......

 

[alsih2o]

strider ranger,

i could be wrong, and don't mean to rain opn your parade, just had a similar experience with a grand here who was in a lodge called the "redmen"...swear i was trying to be helpful, not derogatory

 

[Strider The Ranger]

No worries there, alsi, in fact, I thought that might have been the case, so I just checked with a Native American friend to be sure. No worries and thanks

 

[Pielorinho]

I'm a little bit skeptical. The Iroquois call themselves that Haudenosaunee and are actually a nation, or federation, of five different tribes: Mohawk, Seneca, Tuscarora, Onandaga, and Cayuga (I believe). Given that the medal you mentioned doesn't have a specific tribal name on it, I'd be a little bit surprised if it were from a tribe.

Furthermore I've never heard of a tribe that issues little medallions to all its members. I could certainly be wrong, but considering how impoverished tribal councils usually are (especially in the 1920s), it just doesn't sound like a tribal MO.

However, we palefaces have a long history of romanticizing American Indians , and secret societies even more so. It wouldn't surprise me at all if some lodge set up an "Iroquois" council.

I could, of course, be wrong. However, from the evidence you have, I'm skeptical.

One last thing: If I were you, I wouldn't approach the American Indian Movement with your questions. They've got a reputation for being pretty radical and in-your-face, the Native-American-Rights equivalent of Earth First!. You might find them less than pleased to be answering your questions. You may have better luck writing to a geneology site or to a university professor.

Good luck!
Daniel

PS Maybe "RM" stands for "Royal Mounties?"

 

[mythusmage]

If you haven't, head on over to the official Iroquis web site. You might try the tribal sites themselves.